科幻小说家想象中的北京 读者并不陌生

Sunlight is so scarce that it is rationed based on economic class. Schools are so packed that the poorest parents must wait in line for days to secure spots for their children.

阳光稀缺，以至于要根据经济阶层进行配给。学校拥挤不堪，最穷的家长为了让自己的孩子有学上，得排队等上好几天。

Those are the grim scenes of Hao Jingfang’s “Folding Beijing,” a science-fiction novelette that won a Hugo Award in August, beating out Stephen King. The story is set in a futuristic Beijing, though many of its scenes seem grounded in the problems vexing Chinese society today.

这些可怕的场景出自郝景芳的中短篇科幻小说《北京折叠》。8月，这部小说打败斯蒂芬•金(Stephen King)，赢得了一项雨果奖(Hugo Award)。故事以未来的北京为背景，但很多情景似乎源自困扰当今中国社会的问题。

Ms. Hao, 32, is the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo, conferred by the World Science Fiction Society. Last year, the Hugo for best novel went to the Chinese writer Liu Cixin, making him the first Asian winner.

32岁的郝景芳是首位获得世界科幻协会(World Science Fiction Society)颁发的雨果奖的中国女性。去年，中国作家刘慈欣获得最佳小说雨果奖，成为首位亚洲获奖者。

In an interview at a Beijing cafe, Ms. Hao, who holds a day job as an economics researcher at the China Development Research Foundation, reflected on the line between reality and fiction, giving voice to “invisible people” and how she seeks inspiration for her stories.

在北京的一家咖啡馆接受采访时，现在中国发展研究基金会从事全职工作、担任经济研究员的郝景芳思考了真实与虚幻之间的界线，表达了对“隐形人”的态度，以及她是如何为自己的故事寻找灵感的。

Science fiction has taken off in China in recent years, and more and more Chinese authors are gaining international recognition for their work. What do you think makes Chinese science fiction unique?

近年来，科幻小说在中国大受欢迎，越来越多的中国作家凭借作品获得国际认可。你认为是什么让中国的科幻小说独具一格？

Some Chinese science fiction reads like nonfiction with a few sci-fi elements mixed in. Chinese science fiction isn’t necessarily about the universe, the future, artificial intelligence or technology. It might be about the present or even ancient Chinese history.

中国的一些科幻小说读起来像是夹带着一些科幻元素的纪实作品。中国的科幻小说不一定是关于宇宙、未来、人工智能或科技。它可能是关于中国的当下甚至古代历史。

Your writing is full of everyday people who face grueling decisions. In “Folding Beijing,” you depict Lao Dao, a sanitation worker who resorts to illicit work to pay for his daughter’s education. How do you choose your characters?

你的作品里有许多面临着令人筋疲力尽的决定的普通人。在《北京折叠》中，你笔下的老刀是一个为了女儿的学费而诉诸非法工作的垃圾工。你是怎么选择角色的？

I like characters with conflicting characteristics. Some are controversial, and some face challenges. I think good characters are people who are hard to judge, who are not pure saints or demons.

我喜欢带有冲突特征的角色。有的有争议，有的面临挑战。我认为好角色不是纯圣人或魔鬼，而是那些难以判断的人。

In “Folding Beijing,” you portray a deeply stratified society in which even mingling among economic classes is forbidden. Why focus on inequality?

在《北京折叠》中，你描述了一个严重分化成不同阶层的社会，在这个社会里，连经济阶层之间的结合都是禁止的。你为什么关注不平等问题？

We see from history that, at the beginning of every new empire, equality was one of people’s aspirations, but as the empire grew older, inequality appeared again, and people had to overthrow the empire and start all over again. It seems even now there isn’t an ideal solution. Inequality will continue to be a challenge for human society in the future.

我们从历史中会发现，在每一个新帝国建立之初，平等都是民众的愿望之一，但随着帝国的发展，不平等现象再次出现，人们不得不推翻帝国，从头再来。即便是现在，似乎也没有一个完美的解决办法。未来，不平等仍将是人类社会的一个挑战。

In Beijing, the problem of inequality is particularly visible, with migrant workers working each day next to multimillionaires. To what extent was the story based on problems facing people today?

在北京，不平等问题特别明显，百万富翁旁边每天干活的就是农民工。这个故事在多大程度上是建立在今天的人们面临的问题之上的？

I talk about the future in the story, but the inspiration is current life. In today’s society, although people might live in the same city, their lives are very different, and they have little connection to one another. I wanted to show this in the story in a more direct way — the idea that people live together but can’t see one another. I want people to realize that there are so many invisible people in their lives. And also that their decisions, no matter how harmless or small they may seem, might have a huge and irreversible impact on other people’s lives.

我在故事里说的是未来，但灵感是当前的生活。在当今社会，尽管人们可能生活在同一座城市，但各自的生活千差万别，彼此之间几乎没什么联系。在这个故事里，我想以一种更直接的方式表现这一点——人们共同生活却看不到对方。我想让人们意识到，他们的生活中有那么多隐形人。并且他们的决定，不管看上去多么无害，多么无足轻重，都可能会给其他人的生活带来不可逆转的重大影响。

You have a deep interest in Chinese history. What do you think defines the modern era in China?

你对中国历史兴趣浓厚。你觉得中国的现代时期是由什么来定义的？

I think now is a time of free thought if you look across the broader picture of thousands of years of Chinese history. Thirty years ago, culture and tradition were shattered during the Cultural Revolution. Our generation doesn’t have the same connection to past traditions, and we’ve absorbed so much from Western culture, which is popular.

我认为如果纵观中国数千年的历史，现在是一个思想自由的时代。30年前，文化和传统在文革期间遭到破坏。我们这一代和过去的传统没有同样的联系，我们从备受欢迎的西方文化中吸收了很多。

That has advantages and disadvantages. The bad side is that foreign culture doesn’t have its roots in China, so no matter how much we learn about it, it’s not ours. We don’t know much about traditional culture, which means we are lost. The good side is that we don’t have traditional burdens and are eager to learn unfamiliar things. It’s a time full of uncertainty and potential, and nobody knows where we’re heading.

这有利也有弊。不好的一面是外国文化在中国没有根基，因此不管我们学到了多少，它都不是我们的。我们对传统文化的了解也不多，这意味着我们迷失了自己。好的方面是我们没有传统的负担，渴望学习不熟悉的事物。这是一个充满不确定性和可能性的时代，没人知道我们将走向何方。